There are many instances in which it is necessary to maintain a medical device “on-body”, i.e., secured to a body part of a patient, e.g., the arm, abdomen, or elsewhere. One such instance is maintaining a component of an analyte monitoring system, e.g., a continuous analyte monitoring system, on the skin of a patient.
For example, monitoring of the level of glucose or other analytes, such as lactate or oxygen or the like, in certain individuals is vitally important to their health. The monitoring of glucose level is particularly important to individuals with diabetes, as they must determine when insulin is needed to reduce glucose levels in their bodies or when additional sugar is needed to raise the level of glucose in their bodies. In this regard, devices and systems have been developed for continuous or automatic monitoring of analytes, such as glucose, in the blood stream or in interstitial fluid. Many of these analyte measuring devices include a glucose sensor that is configured so that at least a portion of the sensor is positioned below the epidermis, e.g., in a blood vessel or in the subcutaneous tissue of a patient. The sensor communicates information about the glucose level to a component positioned above the skin, where in certain embodiments the component is intended to be maintained on the skin of the patient.
Despite techniques that have been developed to maintain analyte monitoring components and other medical devices on-body, the component may still become dislodged from its fixed position on the skin, e.g., during vigorous exercise, or the by weakening of the adhesive attaching the components on-body over time, and the like. This dislodgement may be a mere inconvenience, or may have severe consequences, e.g., if the dislodgement goes unnoticed for a substantial period of time during which glucose information is prevented from being obtained. Furthermore, the mere possibility of dislodgement is a constant worry to the user.
As interest in maintaining medical devices, e.g., continuous analyte monitoring devices, in a fixed position on a skin surface continues, there is interest in devices and methods for attaching such device to skin.